Nail clippers



B. M EESOO K NAIL CLIPPERS May 9, 1950 Filed Aug. 3l, 1946 Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT orFICE NAIL CLIPPERS Boonyium Meesook, Hudson Falls, N. Y. Application August 31, 1946, Serial No. 694,264

1 Claim.

'I'he present invention relates in general to a cutting tool and more particularly to an improved clipper for manicuring nails and cuticle, and is a continuation in part of a co-pending application, Serial No. 598,866 filed June 11, 1945, now abandoned.

An object of the invention is to provide a clipper with improved means to retain small cuttings during the clipping operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved manicure clipper which is adapted to prevent the indiscriminate scattering of bits of severed nail and cuticle.

A still further object is to provide an improved manicure clipper having a transparent guard arranged to form a closed pocket in which small bits of nail and cuticle will collect during the normal use of the clipper and from which the small bits of nail and cuticle may bereadily removed in a neat and sanitary manner. A

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the bottom face of the improved manicure clipper of this invention, the jaws of which are closed.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the clipper shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the left-hand end of the clipper shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the clipper-jaws in open position, the pocket of the clipper being in the position it has during the manicuring operation;

Fig. 5 is a section of the clipper-jaws on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, the jaws being in closed position;

Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 5 but with the clipper inverted and the jaws open; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the guard-member which is adapted to be cooperatively associated with the jaws of the clipper to form a confined recess and pocket for retaining small pieces of nail and cuticle.

Referring to the drawings which show an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the clipper, indicated generally at I0, is a relativelylightweight-type of clipper used for the purpose of manicuring nails and cuticle and comprises a pair of operating-handles I I and I2 having corresponding fulcrum-portions I3 and I4 which are journaled together by the 'usual lap-joint and pivot-pin indicated generally at I5. Each fulcrum-portion I3 and I4 is provided at its outer extremity with a jaw I6 and I'I respectively, having mutually-coacting cutting-edges I8 and I9 respectively which, as seen in the horizontal plane of Fig. 1, are substantially straight and in the plane of the upper faces of the jaws. Clippers of this type are quite generally provided with a leaf-spring or other equivalent resilient-means secured at one end to one of the handles of the clipper and adapted to resiliently engage the opposite handle, so that the jaws are normally held open. In the present embodiment, the handle I2 is provided with an apertured boss 20 for pivotally securing one end of a leaf-spring M) thereto.

To adapt the jaws for manicuring purposes, the upper face 2| and 22 respectively of each jaw is of concave curvature, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, as a consequence of which the cutting-edges I8 and I9 of the jaws have a corresponding curvature, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 for, guiding the clippers and insuring a smoothly-curved cut on nails and cuticle.

The bottom faces of the jaws constitute sloping-surfaces or walls which, as shown at 23 and 24 respectively in Figs. 5 and 6, extend from the outer edges of the corresponding jaws inwardly and upwardly to the respective mutually-coacting cutting-edges I8 and I9 thereof. These slopingwalls, together with the substantially-vertical walls 25 and 26 at the inner ends of each respective jaw, form a substantially-V-shaped relief-recess when the jaws are closed, as indicated generally at 2'I in Fig. 5.

Arranged to cooperate with the relief-recess 21 is a guard or cover-member indicated generally at 28 in Fig. '7, which comprises relativelythin sheet material such, for example, as Celluloid or a transparent plastic, or it may be thin sheet metal, having a substantially-rectangular tongue-portion 29 at one end provided with a centrally-arranged aperture 30 adapted to receive fastening-means.represented by a screw 3| for securing the guard to the bottom face of the jaws, as shown in Fig. 1. To this end, the fulcrumportion I3 of the one jaw I6 of the clipper is provided with a substantially-rectangular relativelyshallow groove 32, the over-all dimensions of which correspond substantially to those of the tongue-portion 29 of the guard. The latter is thus adapted to seat snugly in the groove 32 and to be secured therein substantially flush with the plane of the fulcrum-portion I3 of the jaw by the screw 3l which is threadedly engaged in an aperture 33 in the fulcrum-portion I3. The guard-member has a forwardly-extending coverportion identified at 34, shaped substantially like an isosceles triangle, the base of which is slightly wider than the tongue-portion 29 of the guard and forms therewith two substantially-square shoulders 35 on opposite sides of the guard, these shoulders 35Mbeing `adapted to abut corresponding shouldersv` 36 and' 3,1 respectively ol?A the fulcrumportions I3 and: IIT ofthe jaws, as shown in- Fig. l, to prevent pivotal movement of the guard. The sides 38 of the cover-portion 34 of the guard are coincident with the bottom edges of the jaws t@ and I1 and converge to a point which, as shown in the drawings, coincides with the pointed' eX-f tremity of the jaws I6 and Il?. the-sidesf38fbeing curved from the horizontal plane of the tongueportion 29 of the guard upwardly in conformity with the upward curvature of the bottom edges of the-jaws,- asfsi'iowrrin Figs. 2 and-if.

ItV will: be clear that the guard- 2li is ysecured toj one jaw only? of the clipper and comprises a single continuous cover-member which extends fronr the outeredge o'ri the jaw I6 to4 the outer edge ofV the-jaw I1- wherr the jaws are closed,v thev continuous `cover-member spanning the* mutually-coasting cutting-edges I8 and I9 of the jaws, thereby completelyy enclosing the relief-recess' 21",. as'shownin- Fig. 5f.

In operati-ngy this clipper, thev clipper is held so thatV the jaw' I=6 to which' theI guard 28 isfastened is undermost, whereby the cover-portion 34 of the guardforms witlr the corresponding sloping-side 231 of the jaw' I6 pocket' 39' Witt-1inV wh-ichthe nail and cuticle cuttings aref adapted to be caught during operation of the clipper, the' cover-portion 34: also serving. to prevent indiscriminate scattering of the trimm-ings.t Follow-Y ing th'e trimmingA operation, theA operator ifnverts the clipper and opens the jaws tlfiereof,-wl'iereu-porrv by a series of sharp jerks er lightl tappirigs the short pieces of nail and cutic'le are readily removed fromthepocket'S'S for disposal.

The improved manicure clipper thus'- consti'- tutes a neat and sanitary means which 1s convenient to handle and of pleasing appearance for trimming nails and cutcle and eliminates the unsightly, unsanitary and inconvenient scattering of nail cuttings which have heretofore accompanied nail and cuticle trimming operations.

The invention may be carried outy in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered'in all respects afs illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming' within the meaning and" equivalency range of the appended claim are intended to' be embraced therein.

E claim:

In a nail clipper, the combination with a pair of pivote'd; operating-handles having jaws prov-id'edr with mutually-coacting cutting-edges, said jaws having beveled sides arranged to form a relief-recess between saidbeveied sides when said jaws are closed: of a longitudinal groove in the outer fac'e of one? of." said.' jaw-sv; a; guardcarried by' Said? 0121- ja'fW,\ S g' ar'd Cmprsing a Slilgl'e continuous transparent @ovm-member arranged: to" extend: from. the outer edge of the one: jaw'te the corresponding outer edge of.' the opposite jaw when said jaws are closed so as to spanl thef'muwally-enacting cutting-edgesof Ysaid jaws and to' foi-1n ai pocket `with sai'd relief-recess for retaining short lengths of nail; andcuti'cle severed by said jaws; meansv to mount'- sa'd'. single continuous transparent cover-member on said one jaw compri-sing: a relatively-narrow tongue molded integral with said cover-member" and; dimensioned toi-lt snug-ly in the? longitudinal groove of said oney jaw substantially flush with.' the outer face thereof; and fastening-means to' secure said tongue in said groove'.

' BOCNYIUM MEESOOK.

RWERNCES CITED The following' referencesV are of4 recordr inv the lle of this: patent: Y

N'ITED STATES 1="'.\I'lll\ITSL Number Name Date 1,862,556- Wel-haven Jun-e 14', 1932 2,146,132 Scholl Feb. 7, 1939 

